General Question

Can anyone identify this bug?

A friend of mine who lives in central Ontario posted this picture of a bug that landed on him this morning while he was sitting in the yard. He says it was about two inches long. I know the picture isn’t the best and I’m sorry, but it was the only one he was able to take before the bug took off.

I’ve Googled to no avail; I can’t figure out what this guy is. Anyone able to shed any light on it? Thanks in advance.

I think you’re right, @Mariah! I’ve heard cicadas calling in summer all my life, but I’ve never seen one. They must keep themselves pretty hidden most of the time, since my friend had never seen one either :D

Thanks also @PhiNotPi and @Michael_Huntington—now I feel kind of silly asking about such a common bug! But really, I’ve never seen one before, though they yell all day long.

@Seelix It’s funny that this question came up, because I was just researching singing bugs last night. I wanted to know what the makers of the sounds look like! I’ve never seen a cicada either, although I’ve seen an empty husk of one stuck to a tree.

Cicadas are fascinating insects. There are more than 1,500 species of cicada, but one of the best known is the periodical cicada that emerges from the ground every seventeen years. They spend most of their lives as nymphs, burrowed underground and sucking sap from tree roots and they are considered a delicacy by many people around the world. They are probably best known for their buzzing and clicking noises, which can be amplified by multitudes of insects into an overpowering hum.

Yes – this is a cicada. They have life spans (depending on their genus) which spans anywhere from 2 to 17 years. The majority of their lives is spent underground in a “nymph” phase and then they come crawling out of the ground split out of their shell leaving the empty casing attached to something like a tree or the side of a house etc. and then they zip up into a tree after their wings dry and proceed to make a loud squeal/buzz noise each night. When they are dying they are easy to catch and when you grab them by the wings they will rattle their squeal/buzz for you to hear. Which is scary if you aren’t ready for it, but they are harmless to the average human.